Hollywood Hills

A Novel

Leona Brueger is the still-foxy widow of Sammy Brueger, who left her his fortune and mansion in the Hollywood Hills. Bored, she is dating a B-list movie director and looking to get a little excitement in her newfround freedom. When an esteemed (but broke) art dealer named Nigel Wickland sees the valuable paintings hung on Leona's mansion's walls, he hatches a plan to create replicas and resell the originals at a killing profit. The only problem is, this is Hollywood. A circle of young pill-heads dubbed "The Bling Ring" has taken to thieving from rich people's houses, and a pair of tweakers stumbles upon Nigel's heist--and that's just the beginning of the trouble. Soon "Hollywood" Nate Weiss, surfer cops Flotsam and Jetsam, and the rest of the team at Hollywood Station have a fullblown mess on their hands. Hollywood Hills is a raucous tale that showcases Wambaugh in vintage form.

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Many exciting moments, yet there was something missing. I liked the policing issues that make LAPD's Hollywood Station different: the petty criminals found near Grauman's Chinese Theatre and the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the individual police officers like "Hollywood Nate" who play a role on the periphery of the movie business, and the proximity of the beaches at Malibu. Jonas and his mal-treated girlfriend Megan are down on their luck, and need a score of oxycodone, "Ox," to survive another day. At the same time, Leona Brueger, the cougar who fancies Hollywood Nate, and her current fling Director Rudy Ressler are leaving for a long vacation in Italy. Enter Raleigh Dibble, her new butler, and art dealer Nigel Wickland, who believe the art collection in her Hollywood Hills mansion will make them rich. You just know it will all collide in the end. Another point of enjoyment - from start to finish, none of the characters seem to know what is going on. And that includes the police and justice. Wambaugh makes one wonder if the denouement in real criminal matters is as random as in fiction.